Transfer VHS to Digital File

 

One of our most popular services is the transfer of VHS to Digital file. We convert VHS cassettes to Digital by capturing the videotape into digital and then outputting in the desired format.

 vhs to dvd

vhs dvd

By transfering your VHS tapes to Digital files you will avoid the problems of old videotape deteriorating and enable easy enjoyment of your precious recordings for years to come.

 

 

For more details on our VHS to Digital transfer service and the conversion process used please scroll down.

Output can be in a range of formats to suit your needs, including MOV, AVI, MPEG etc. In all cases you can choose between Compressed and Uncompressed (the latter requires a Hard Drive with approx 15GB per hours free space).

 

 

History of VHS - Humble beginnings

The recording of video using mobile equipment known as Video Tape Recorders (VTR) or later Video Cassette Recorders (VCR) started to gain momentum in the 1960s and 1970s although at this time cost was still prohibitive for home use.

  

During these early years the main users were broadcasters and commercial enterprises. Toward the end of this period schools and colleges also started to embrace the technology.

 

Mass market

By the late 1970s the world was poised on the brink of a home entertainment revolution. Mass market adoption quickly ensued when technological developments had delivered robust players and cassettes at costs which, though still expensive by today's standards, were certainly heading in a more affordable direction.

Format war

There was one last hurdle to overcome which was to ascertain the format winner from three competing standards - VHS (Video Home System), Betamax and Philips Video 2000.

  
With echoes of similar contests both past and present the battle ground out until the early 1980s when VHS emerged as the victor. Famously VHS was not the technologically superior but won the marketing duel and was perceived as better value with longer maximum recording times.

Iconic Impact

The mass market uptake of the Video Cassette Recorder or VCR happened alongside and contributed to some significant cultural milestones which underpin todays entertainment market:
  • New Hollywood - during the 1970s new producers upped the tempo of film's visual impact with stunning special effects, a more open attitude to portraying violence and increased dipiction of explicit content - typified by Coppola, Scorsese, Lucas and Spielberg. And for the first time film lovers could enjoy these works from the comfort of their own home.
  
  • Music Videos - in the late 1970s BBC's Top of the Pops began playing music videos. From its beginning as the "promo" music videos had firmly established themselves and in some cases come to be inseparable to the expression of the song
  
  • MTV - the station known as MTV or Music Television launched in 1981 and was a first not only due to its sole focus on the music video but also for its 24/7 non-stop delivery format.
  
  • Consumer Camcorders - against this tremendous video revolution in 1983 the first mass market consumer camcorders became available. These included a model from Sony which used a Betamax cassette and one from JVC using the VHS-C format (VHS-Compact tapes).
  

Lasting legacy

Many probably did not realise the full impact that "video" would have and how early devices and recording formats would pave the way for a video revolution which by the 1980s was firmly underway and right up to today continues to permutate into all aspects of our daily life from consumer devices through to search engine technology.

In 2008 JVC produced the last "stand-alone" VCR - during the preceding three decades 900 million VCRs were sold worldwide with an estimated peak installed base of in 2002 of 374m units.

If the UKs 22m households retain an average of 10 VHS tapes each then there are 220 million VHS tapes in existance across the UK.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Turtle Video is a specialist Video service provider.

 

We provide consultation, transfer and conversion services.

 

Our clients included media companies and independent film-makers.

 

 

s